By Candice Navi
Towards the end of the school day, I find myself begging the minute hand to wait a few more seconds before ticking forward. What could possibly possess me to even think of lingering even a little bit longer at school? You may want to sit down for the answer, because it is pretty shocking. I was actually having fun. Yes, I enjoyed my time in a fluorescent-lit, green-tinged room, also known as a classroom.
Frankly, this has been the case in an increasing number of my courses; my enjoyment of class has begun to outweigh my general dislike of school. Maybe a chapter in English was particularly fascinating or that evolutionary theory from Biology caught my interest.
But even more likely is the new perspective I have developed over the past few months about learning. Even though it took me about 11 years of schooling, I have come to understand that I can learn and have fun at the same time, even after my innocent days in elementary school.
The lessons we learn in high school are immensely different than the hours of finger-painting of kindergarten, but why canât they be just as enjoyable?
Part of going to school is the interaction between students and their teachers; I used to believe teachers only taught and students only learned. But there is more to the classroom dynamic than what meets the eye.
The students in many of my classes actually interact with one another, leading to relationships beyond the skin-deep bonds I typically formed with my classmates. Many of my teachers talk to their students like friends and tend to advise more than they preach.
My great revelation was quickly followed by despair at the fact that my academic classes could never be as fun as my electives.
These few minutes of gloom were quickly followed by an awe-inspiring optimism. I walked into each of my classes with a positive attitude and a determination to change the tone in as many of my classes as I possibly could.
It is possible that my classes had been more like a family and less like a learning facility all along and I was unwilling to let people in.
Now I am surprised to hear a zipper of a nearby backpack closing, indicating the end of the period or looking at the clock to make sure class is not over yet.
My relationship with fellow students has dramatically changed for the better. I have gotten past what I now realize is a stereotypical and inaccurate high school experience and have exchanged it for something much more rewarding; a revived enjoyment of school.
